Hi George. Thanks for the recommendation. I just watched the first episode today - Rise of the Blue Beetle!

I agree with you on the retro feel and tone of the show. It's a great balance and it's a lot of fun to watch. I also thought it was interesting to be able to hear Batman's thoughts like in the comics. I'll keep watching.

All are mp4, h264 format and can be downloaded straight away to media players (iPod)! Other websites have the same clips but they are in flv (Flash Video) format and must be converted to play on portable media players. The h264 files here look to be higher quality conversions, too, so I would recommend downloading from ComicsContinuum if you want the sneak peak clips.

WB/Cartoon Network are really hyping this show but so far it hasn't failed to deliver. It's easily the funnest action-adventure cartoon in a long while (since the end of Justice League Unlimited at any rate) and probably the best Batman animated series since 1995.

Looks like another very good episode.

The writers kept in the antagonism between Batman and Guy Gardner.

Looks like there might be a set-up for Sinestro as a bad guy in a future episode. He's still a Green Lantern (one of the good guys) here, though.

As mentioned before, Hal Jordan does appear as Green Lantern (masked) and fights off Despero and a combined, mind-controlled Green Lantern Corps before disappearing in the episode's front-end teaser.

(No, unless you're a recent DC acquisition or a Charlton Heroes character you don't get killed in a DC Comic! Hal will be back...)

New episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold have been pre-empted until February 20th, 2009. In the meanwhile, reruns are still happening at 8:30 AM EST and in the early afternoons between 1 and 3 PM EST and on Saturdays (10:30AM?).

Clips for the February 20th episode are up and show team-ups with Jonah Hex and the Bronze Tiger!

Still looking good even if they're doing "ninjas" this episode.

Man, I hate ninjas! Not so much the concept of ninjas as the fact that DC decided to make its "human" superhero into the perfect man who knows everything. He's gotta be a master of all forms of combat AND know everything about science AND crime procedure AND...! Well, you get the picture. That makes Batman even less believable than the coincidence he's a billionaire with access to tons of hi-tech...!

(I blame ninjas in the Bat titles on Frank Miller and Denny O'Neil. Two of the top creators on Batman in the past 40 years and two who have arguably written some of the worst as well as some of the best Batman comics ever. O'Neil gets a bit more of a slap from me since his editorialship introduced a lot more martial arts nonsense into the Bat-universe as well as Azrael and Bane... There are times when writers shouldn't be promoted to editors on the comics they're writing...!)

Somehow, they're finding the right balance of humor in the Brave and the Bold series such that I can overlook a lot of the things that annoy me about the monthly Batman comics... Thank goodness the angst in the monthlies hasn't infected this show! It is a delight to watch.

Looks like Brave and the Bold will skip another week and the next new episode will air on March 6th. It's the start of a two-parter and (might) technically (be) the end of the first season of "Batman: The Brave and the Bold."

(Today's episode with the Bronze Tiger was pretty good. Looking even more forward to the two-parter.)

It's an homage to the classic dimensional crossover stories that were popular in DC Comics until they decided to consolidate the DC Multiverse into a single DC Universe in 1985 during the maxi-series, "Crisis on Infinite Earths." That series, as nicely written and drawn as it was, is one of the singular biggest publishing mistakes DC Comics ever made IMHO.

Part of the strength of DC Comics was the variety of characters and worlds writers had to work with. On Earth-1, you had the modern versions of superheroes and the Justice League of America. On Earth-2, most of the original versions of these characters resided and the original super team, The Justice Society of America, still operated. Earth-3 featured an inverted world where the super-villains ruled. Earth-3's Crime Syndicate was a twisted version of the JLA with dark mirror versions of the JLA's greatest heroes. Earth-X was a tragic world where the Axis won World War II and the heroes left on that world fought decades later to restore freedom. Later worlds were added to the DC Multiverse as DC Comics acquired character properties from folded competitors such as Fawcett Publications (Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family) and Charlton Comics (Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, The Question).

It was such a rich tapestry. Glad to see it's being worked into this series in small way with the introduction of the Crime Syndicate in "The Brave and the Bold." Batman's evil counterpart, Owlman, is spotlighted in the two-parter and we see the introduction of both a heroic Red Hood (from the world of the Crime Syndicate) and The Joker, Batman's arch-enemy. It's a sly play on Batman mythos if people know the main DC Continuity connections between the Red Hood and The Joker.

This two-parter looks to be a ride well worth taking and might be the strongest story yet in this series. There are several interesting still frame captures from the upcoming two-parter. One features a cavalcade of alternate Batmen from different dimensions including a western Batman, vampiric Batman, pirate Batman, future Batman, and the mainline Batman amongst others. It also looks like Owlman adopts a Batman costume like the original Bob Kane Batman design when he impersonates Batman and starts a crime spree in Gotham. The Joker design looks like the Dick Sprang incarnation of the character, too.

Even if the stories don't appeal to some people this series has a rich graphic design and shows there is plenty of life left in the old DC Comics and Batman designs of years past. Not everything animated has to look like Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Alex Toth, or even Bruce Timm for that matter. The early Silver Age and Golden Age comic book designs adapt remarkably well to animation.

I haven't used the word genius, myself --it's an often overused and abused word in entertainment --, but it's a very enjoyable show that's exploring a universe of rich tapestry in a way that's been lacking since Justice League Unlimited ended its run. The humor is also appropriate and doesn't demean the characters but at the same time adds a levity that's so lacking in the comics today. Given a chance between the comics and this show, I pick the show. It's a hundred times more enjoyable than any of the current Batman monthly comics. And they DIDN'T need to kill Batman to get my attention!

I've liked the show so much that I've recorded over half the episodes to my DVD-Recorder, transferred to DVD+RW (erasable to at least 1,000 times and more compatible with the DVD-Recorder), edited the commercials out on my computer with MPEG Streamclip, and then compressed into mp4 format with iSquint to watch them on my iPod on road travels. I've also taken most of the preview clips and transferred those to iPod as well.

I haven't bothered burning DVDs... I'll wait until the first season set eventually comes out and buy the professional DVDs.

Goes without saying I've been collecting stills from websites, too. The Sprang Joker looks fantastic in the preview stills as well as Owlman dressed up as the Bob Kane Batman. Owlman's regular outfit looks more like the Justice Lords Batman costume from Justice League.

To get George, notoriously difficult to please, to be this enthusiastic... I stand by my term "Genius!"

BTW, in terms of the comics, I find myself quite close to stopping buying monthlies. The odd comic that get raves now finds its way to my bookshelf as a hardcover. I love the DC heroes, and actually they (in their various media incarnations) had a profound effect on my development as a person; but I just can't get into the current comics, with few exceptions. JSA is the only DC I'm getting now, but I'll likely stop once Geoff Johns leaves. I was liking his Action Comics, until they killed off Pa Kent. I really don't care about Johns' upcoming "Black Lanterns"--- I'm sick of them killing off characters at DC. I’d rather read a Sprang or Robinson story than look at what’s in the Batman comics now, so this show looks like a breath of fresh air.

They're just not worth it, and the 32-page monthly format has become uneconomical. Prices are set to rise to $4 average per issue ($5 in Canada)! The stories have also become dreary and so editorially driven that it's not funny. Deaths of classic characters and all these retcons have also driven the joy out of a lot of things.

I find the only DC title I enjoy regularly is Green Lantern and that's really only with the big events like Rebirth, The Sinestro Corps and the upcoming Blackest Night with all the recently killed DC characters (including my favorite Superman, the Golden Age Earth-2 Superman) coming back as Black Lanterns/possessed Zombies/"Death Lanterns." I only collect GL in the hardcover releases and occasionally peak at the monthly.

It's too bad that once the Editor-in-Chief at DC heard about the story he decided to make it a company-wide crossover. If Didio has proven anything over the past few years at DC, he's not a great coordinator and NEEDS TO GO ASAP. The same with Joe Quesada at Marvel.

I'm not happy about the price of full-color trades, either, but at least they're in full-color unlike the Marvel Essentials and DC Showcase series!

Really, the most economical way to get books is online. The comic book companies have forced people to be economical that way with the pricing. Comic shops just can't compete with online discounters.

Yes, I still buy books and magazines from stores, but not statues or anything over $35-$40. It's just too expensive for me and I can get that stuff at least 35% off online. Some books you can get up to 50% off!

The one good thing in spite of all the negativity coming from the top of the comic book companies is that we're in a renaissance as far as reprints are concerned. There has NEVER been as much Golden Age and Silver Age material back in print -- in quality collections -- as there is now. My only complaint is the price and the obvious alternative to hardcovers is wetmarked DVDs... Only Marvel has really commissioned those and all of them are now long out-of-print because Marvel doesn't want undermine its hardcover and trade paperback reprint sales.

Wow, I may have to make it a point to catch this episode. The show hasn't really hooked me, it's good and all, but not something to go out of my way to watch. Definitely a step in the right direction after The lame Batman, though that shouldn't have been too hard.

I'm not feeling the Jokers voice, but the design is perfect. And I continue to be impressed with Batman's new voice, man does he a good job! Sounded almost exactly like Kevin Conroy in that clip.

One with Batman versus the Crime Syndicate and another with Joker negotiating a team-up with Batman.

Some good Joker bits in this episode for sure. It looks we have another set of writers who know how to write Joker. First time since Justice League that I've seen a well-written Joker. It strikes the right balance between goofy and evil -- not the junk I've seen in the live-action movies for the past 20 years.

Yes, it's different than Batman: TAS but it looks GOOOOOOOOODDD!

I'm telling you, the Silver Age fans and people who like a FUN Batman series are going to like this upcoming episode!

I'm waiting for higher-quality versions of the clips to show up sooner or later in mp4 forma on ComicsContinuum.com

I really don't want to do more conversions now... FLV is a pain to deal with!

Correction on scheduling... The first part of this two-parter airs THIS Friday, February 27th at 8:00 PM EST! My DVD-Recorder will definitely be set for it!

Daniel wrote:Wow, I may have to make it a point to catch this episode. The show hasn't really hooked me, it's good and all, but not something to go out of my way to watch. Definitely a step in the right direction after The lame Batman, though that shouldn't have been too hard.

I'm not feeling the Jokers voice, but the design is perfect. And I continue to be impressed with Batman's new voice, man does he a good job! Sounded almost exactly like Kevin Conroy in that clip.

Honestly, Diedrich Bader doesn't sound anything like Kevin Conroy. Watch a few episodes of both shows and you'll see what I mean. There's a dramatic difference between the two of their voices and the way they're playing Batman. Bader's Batman tends to be lighter with more of a sense of humor. Brave & The Bold also isn't above playing Batman's "inner" thinking voice, either. That's something not done much anymore on TV or movies.

If anything, Bader is using his Hoss Delgado voice (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy) to do Batman.

The guy doing Joker is someone I don't know but it fits the Dick Sprang (mid-1940s through late 1950s Batman artist) character design. Much, much better than the last guy (who did The Joker on "The Batman" animated series) who was trying too hard to sound like Mark Hamill's Joker...

I'm noticing that "The Batman" got buried very quickly by WB. It still airs on Boomerang (which I only get to watch when I visit my parent's home -- they have satellite, I just have basic cable at my place) but in the insomniac hours. The earlier Batman: TAS airs on Disney XD.

WB seems to be aware that most fanboys DIDN'T like "The Batman" and it didn't seem to score well among the kids who were supposed to buy toys based off the show, too...

The basic vibe I'm getting about "The Brave and the Bold" is that it's a hit amongst many Batman fans and people that wanted a lighter-hearted action series that was respectful to the comics. The only people that don't seem to like it are either Marvel fanboys or the "emo" crowd that have frankly helped ruin comics...

I'm not familiar with Bader's work on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, so can't really comment. I'm pretty much with you on the voice though, but he does have a Conroy vibe to him. Just saying in that clip he sounded more closer to Conroy's version than usual. Well, at least to me.

Though certainly different, I agree that Bader is in the same ballpark as Conroy's voice. (Definitely closer than the last guy to do the voice on The Batman.) When I heard Bader use the voice at Comic-Con, I was surprised at how Conroy-like it was. But I love the sense of humor he can bring to it too.

It really sounds like the producers and writers are on the ball on this series.

It's also gotten very good ratings and has been greenlit for the second half of its first season!

This is easily my favorite animated series on TV at the moment and certainly the best thing on Cartoon Network.

I skip the Family Guy/King of the Hill dominated Adult Sewer (what's the point in watching anymore without decent anime, Futurama or at least Venture Bros.?) but always at least tape the new Brave and the Bold episodes on Fridays.

THIS is the show I don't want to miss.

Can't wait to see more of the kooky old heroes and villains show up. Comics and animation should be fun! They're not supposed to be made by emos for emos!

Rumors (with some confirmations) are we'll see The Flash (Barry Allen most likely), the Justice Society, and probably the original Doom Patrol in future episodes! Loved the Doom Patrol's guest-shot on Titans. Those were easily two of the best episodes of that show.

Oh, and the new Wonder Woman animated movie gets released on home video next week.

You'll probably watch it with your kid, Randall. Am I right?

I'll miss Lynda Carter, for sure, but Keri Russell should do a good job of filling in the vocals. She's a pretty good actress..